February Half Term - Science Fair

A day full of activities and research to celebrate 150 Years of Science, Agriculture and Engineering at Newcastle University.

Activity One - Berry Future

Printable solar cells made from low-cost, sustainable materials have the potential to change the energy sector for the benefit of humanity globally. 

Learn about how a device is made with dyes from cherries, blackberries, raspberries and/or blackcurrants, and can be used to convert light energy into electrical energy. Build your own dye sensitized solar cells in a few simple steps taking less than five minutes and measuring the photovoltaic devices' performance based on power output. 

Activity Two - Epigenetics: how do identical twins differ?

Discover why environmental factors alter how we develop and age. We will introduce epigenetics and why it is an interesting and important field of research.

We will display a model of chromatin (DNA in its ‘packaging’) to show how its structure influences which genes are switched on. Join us for some fun epigenetic inspired games to illustrate where chemical modifications take place, and how they affect the way your genes work.

Activity Three - Design a Planet

Join us to design and make your very own planet you can take home with you. Will your planet be a small icy planet, a Gas Giant with fantastic clouds, an Earth-like planet with oceans and forests, or anything else in between? You decide!!!

This activity is aimed to engage junior school age children, but is fun for everyone whatever your age, and is an excellent craft activity to do as a together as a family. The activity takes about 20-30 mins and you can take your creations home with you.

Activity Four - Free Planetarium Show - Audio Universe: Tour of the Solar System (FULLY BOOKED)

Activity Five - Story:Web

Story:Web is an idea for how museum collections, images and sounds shared online, and people’s experiences could be connected to make sense of global issues like climate change. It was a winning entry for the Reimagining Museums for Climate Action design challenge, and was exhibited at the Glasgow Science Centre up to and during COP26, the UN Climate Change Conference. Explore how something like Story:Web might look and sound via a touch-screen based interactive demo.

Activity Six - Make & Take: the Lady Bird Spot

Natural History Society of Northumbria Education Rangers will share with visitors our Lady Bird Spot citizen science project through a creative activity for kids. Visitors will be able to learn about the various lady birds we have in the north east and then choose two to interpret in making their own lady bird greeting card. They will also receive information on how to identify lady birds in the wild and where they can submit records in order to help naturalists better understand their distribution in England.

Activity Seven - Show & Share: the animals of Gosforth Nature Reserve

Natural History Society of Northumbria Education Rangers will have on display several collection animals that can be found at Gosforth Nature Reserve (GNR). Visitors will be able to interact with an A3 map of GNR displaying our various habitats by placing animal cut-outs in the habitats they believe would best suit the animals. They will have the opportunity to learn about animals they may see on any given day at GNR and why those animals are best suited for their habitats.

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Make your ‘Ways to Play’ adventure a great value day out by travelling to our venues by the Metro and / or Ferry.  

Up to three children aged 11 and under can travel for free on the Metro and the Shields Ferry with a fare-paying adult. Metro is the convenient, fast and frequent way to get to your favourite attractions and now it’s even more affordable. 

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Ways to Play is sponsored by Tyne and Wear Metro.